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IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

whitehoodhacker.net

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Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#161

Post by rsp1984 »

In case anyone else is wondering how the heck the kid got access to the district's network, the key sentence is hidden in the middle of the post:

Since freshman year, I had complete access to the IPTV system. I only messed around with it a few times and had plans for a senior prank, but it moved to the back of my mind and eventually went forgotten.

Not sure why they don't go into more detail about how exactly "complete access" was obtained, since that is obviously the hardest part of hacking any system. Not trying to downplay the achievement here, just think that this would have deserved a bit more detail.

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#162

Post by oneplane »

blacktriangle wrote: post #19
bluedino wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad to see a kid using bash and not something like gulp PowerShell

Credit where credit is due, we all WISH *nix had something like PowerShell. Passing strings from program to program is a pain, passing around .NET objects instead is a great step forward, as can be seen by the several attempts at similar shells passing around JSON objects.

There have been REPLs like PowerShell for ages, it's nothing really new. The only nuance in this is that it is new in the Windows ecosystem to have something like that supported by Microsoft. Ironically, it hasn't managed to displace the command prompt or batch files, so instead of having to deal with one thing, you now have to deal with two things.

As for the passing of strings: it might seem like a pain, but as soon as you start working with non-program I/O it's not like you'll have much of a choice. Keep in mind that it is the lowest form of communication and you can build on top of that. Same with I/O in general: nothing prevents you from using shared memory or a device instead.

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#163

Post by kevinsundar »

rsp1984 wrote: post #161

In case anyone else is wondering how the heck the kid got access to the district's network, the key sentence is hidden in the middle of the post: Since freshman year, I had complete access to the IPTV system. I only messed around with it a few times and had plans for a senior prank, but it moved to the back of my mind and eventually went forgotten. Not sure why they don't go into more detail about how exactly "comple…

It seems like he just was on the school network and the IPTV devices were also on the same network with no authentication.

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#164

Post by chrisseaton »

lr4444lr wrote: post #160
chrisseaton wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a prank Why do we tolerate pranks? You shouldn't be able to interfere with someone else and say 'just a prank bro'. Leave other people's things alone. Don't create work for other people. Don't bother people just trying to do their jobs. Don't impose your sense of humour on others. These all seem like basics to me? If you think someone's funny? Great. Just don't bother other people with it. Do it with your own stuff…

Many criminal cases require establishing intent. Pranks may be harmful as you allude to, but the intent still matters.

How does that work? Can you murder someone for a prank and say your intent was just a prank so it was fine?

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#165

Post by quasarj »

hparadiz wrote: post #112
mmaunder wrote: post #61

Someone I know did something similar, was arrested in their college dorm, and at the sentencing hearing in federal court was fined and sentenced to 5 years probation, and now has a criminal record. This kid is very very lucky. Obviously they violated the CFAA which carries severe criminal penalties. They engaged in actual hacking without any permission or defined scope. And they exploited the system without any respo…

Posts like yours validate the insane over criminalization of what essentially amounts to a prank. I had literally the exact same experience in high school. Got expelled and had to get a GED. They could have easily pressed charges. Part of the issue is people like you who advocate for respecting "the system" and essentially scaring kids into not doing anything. Except that simply re-enforces the draconian laws that ar…

What? How is warning someone that they are going to ruin their lives the same as endorsing it?

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#166

Post by ianhawes »

giantg2 wrote: post #44

My first thought when I read the headline was "another kid with a felony following them around for a prank that didn't harm anyone". Nice to see they weren't prosecuted.

Given the amount of press this is receiving and the fact that the message the administration sent to them seemed a bit suspect, I wouldn't be surprised if the kids did end up catching several charges.

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#167

Post by marvin »

mmaunder wrote: post #61

Someone I know did something similar, was arrested in their college dorm, and at the sentencing hearing in federal court was fined and sentenced to 5 years probation, and now has a criminal record. This kid is very very lucky. Obviously they violated the CFAA which carries severe criminal penalties. They engaged in actual hacking without any permission or defined scope. And they exploited the system without any respo…

There is something obscenely totalitarian about this whole mindset. You're making a very pragmatic point, but take a step back and look at the whole thing.

You're warning a teenager against making a brilliant, harmless, funny and responsible prank so that they won't get their whole life fucked up forever. Think a little about what kind of political system necessitates that kind of ridiculous warning. What sort of nation does this kind of thing to its kids? If we strike the United States from the list, what sort of countries are left?

You guys really need to get your so-called justice system sorted out. Sorry to make such a blunt point, but this is depressing as hell.

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#168

Post by guynamedloren »

chrisseaton wrote: post #149
hparadiz wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Posts like yours validate the insane over criminalization of what essentially amounts to a prank. I had literally the exact same experience in high school. Got expelled and had to get a GED. They could have easily pressed charges. Part of the issue is people like you who advocate for respecting "the system" and essentially scaring kids into not doing anything. Except that simply re-enforces the draconian laws that ar…

> a prank Why do we tolerate pranks? You shouldn't be able to interfere with someone else and say 'just a prank bro'. Leave other people's things alone. Don't create work for other people. Don't bother people just trying to do their jobs. Don't impose your sense of humour on others. These all seem like basics to me? If you think someone's funny? Great. Just don't bother other people with it. Do it with your own stuff…

> Why do we tolerate pranks?

Pranks can be an outlet for creativity and learning that might not otherwise happen.

The post concludes with:

> This has been one of the most remarkable experiences I ever had in high school and I thank everyone who helped support me. That's all and thanks for reading!

I'm certain this kid learned so much working through the execution of this prank, and without being criminalized by the district, he's better off for it. Likewise, the IT department is better off with a more secure system, and staff and students experienced shared moments of unexpected joy.

Call me naive, but I'd say this kid made his small slice of the world a bit better, if only for a fleeting moment.

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#169

Post by chrisseaton »

guynamedloren wrote: post #168
chrisseaton wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a prank Why do we tolerate pranks? You shouldn't be able to interfere with someone else and say 'just a prank bro'. Leave other people's things alone. Don't create work for other people. Don't bother people just trying to do their jobs. Don't impose your sense of humour on others. These all seem like basics to me? If you think someone's funny? Great. Just don't bother other people with it. Do it with your own stuff…

> Why do we tolerate pranks? Pranks can be an outlet for creativity and learning that might not otherwise happen. The post concludes with: > This has been one of the most remarkable experiences I ever had in high school and I thank everyone who helped support me. That's all and thanks for reading! I'm certain this kid learned so much working through the execution of this prank, and without being criminalized by the d…

> Pranks can be an outlet for creativity and learning that might not otherwise happen.

Great.

But do it with your own things then. Don't bother anyone else or touch anyone else's things.

And no worker should ever have to do any work (such as reset a computer system) because of your prank. Workers have enough work to do and enough hassles in their lives.

Re: IoT hacking and rickrolling my high school district

#170

Post by ubermonkey »

Three things are remarkable about this, and make it a happy story.

First, that the pranksters were so egregiously responsible in the way they went about it. They avoided disrupting any actual educational activities; it was meant to be harmless fun, not vandalism. No harm came to anything here.

Second, that they documented their findings to the administration as part of the action, including recommendations for improvements.

Third, the administration took this as exactly that: a harmless prank by smart, ethical kids who ALSO did them a favor by pointing out the vulnerabilities. If the admin had a panicked fit about this, they could have made it an ugly situation.

My educational experience was populated far more by "freak out and yell" types than this school district, which was a shame.

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